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Republican Dirty Tricks

As always, the Republican Party lives down to expectations:

It turns out that some of the political phone messages Granite Staters are receiving as Election Day nears may be illegal. The issue revolves around the national Do Not Call registry.

A homeowner in Hillsboro received the same message several times in one day. It began by stating it had information about Paul Hodes, the Democratic challenger for the 2nd Congressional District.

After a few seconds, the ad turns on the attack. It isn't until the end that you find out it was sponsored by the Republican National Congressional Committee.

These dirty tricks, which are illegal, are being employed in 53 races by the GOP.

Has there been a slimier political party than today's Republicans?

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  • Display: Sort:
    ummmmmmmmm................. (none / 0) (#1)
    by cpinva on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 11:06:00 PM EST
    yes. the national socialist party, commonly known as the nazis, but just barely.

    Re: u ummmmmmmmm................. (none / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 03:36:28 AM EST
    Aww, cpinva.... you beat me to it!  ;-)

    Parent
    First thing the Dems need to do... (none / 0) (#2)
    by TomStewart on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 01:52:52 AM EST
    ...election reform. Make this kind of thing against the law.

    Two calls from the Demos (1.00 / 0) (#4)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 06:28:14 AM EST
    Meantime in the real world...

    Yesterday I received two calls about 20 minutes apart from the Demo Senate race. The first was a recording, the second had someone reading from a script because when I became grumpy she stopped and seemed shocked. But she would not identiy who she was and were she was calling from.

    Very brave these Demos... Cut and run on the home front.

    These were from a Demo Senate race and the content confirmed that my decision to NOT vote for the Demo.

    Worse, my telephone number is on the  National Do Not Disturb registery. Today I find out if that law forbids politicans from disturbing my home and hearth, especiall when Peyton is playing.

    Parent

    Meanwhile in the real world (none / 0) (#5)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 06:59:57 AM EST
    you remain either a fool or a knave.

    Did you misunderstand what the GOP did? They misrepresented themselves as Democrats.

    In fact, you probably were called by the GOP <s>you twit</s> you misguided man.

    Parent

    You're right Big Tent... (none / 0) (#6)
    by Edger on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 07:03:47 AM EST
    But he's also baiting....

    Parent
    Act like you've been here before (none / 0) (#13)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 09:42:34 AM EST
    Big Tent - You come on as the voice of reason. Someone who can post comments of interst that will spur debate and promote understanding.

    But there is nothing new in your approach. You post things that are misleading. Let me ask.

    Have you ever heard a commercial and/or received a telephone commercial that identified the person/party until the end? I haven't. Never. Not one time. No way. They all wait until the end. That's normal. Usual. The way things are done.

    And if you condemn that, why don't you condemn the two calls I received. In fact, the first waited until the end and the second, when I questioned during the call, just hung up, unidentified, although since the pitch was the wonders of the Demo, I assume it was from the Demos.

    Heck. The local guy running for Congress has signs all over the place that don't even say that he is a Demo. Guess he is a proud memeber of the Democratic Party.

    The reason is simple. Ads and calls are made to get people to vote for you. And means getting them  to change their minds. So you give them the message first, and then you say who made the ad/phone call... unless you are like the Demo with the unidentified party signs, and the lady in the second call when I asked who she was... she just hung up.

    Big Tent, you call me a fool,knave and a "twit." I would say that you couldn't answer comment, so you resorted to a personal attack when you couldn't answer. You are a supposed leader on the blog. When you loose to an Independent and Social Liberal you prove otherwise.  

    But why? Could it be that you are nervous? Do you see that the game is on the table and you are now fearful?? Show us some class, Big Tent. Act like you've been in one of these before.

    Parent

    MoveOn.org calls (none / 0) (#16)
    by Dadler on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 10:16:29 AM EST
    Jim,
    I've been calling for MoveOn for the last week and the first thing you say is "Hello, my name is __ and I'm a volunteer caller with MoveOn.org."  

    While I'm not a fan of Robo-calls at all, and find them dehumanizing, I have no problem with real human beings making election calls to me, especially those volunteering their time for something this civic-minded.

    Be well and prosper, my sweet Texas rose.  We're all in this together, after all.

    Parent

    Dadler is a Demo! (none / 0) (#17)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 11:44:27 AM EST
    Dadler - I am certainly glad to know that you are doing this.

    But the fact remains that I have heard no radio ads or phone calls from the candidate's orgs or the DNC that identified who they were up front.

    Perhaps it is just the southern Demos that are sneaky.

    My issue isn't people working and calling, my issue is them calling me, and anyone else who doesn't want to hear BS, no matter be it Demo, Repub or MoveOn.org's representative, Dadler of Southern California-Mexico.

    You have heard of the Do Not Disturb list, haven't you??

    And one more time dear Dadler. I ain't from, going to, or have ever lived in Texas. Your Hollywood Tin Ear has watched too many episodes of "Dallas." That was fiction, Dude.

    And I'm glad to know MoveOn has finally identified itself as part of the Democratic Party. I mean, who would have thought??

    Parent

    How quickly I forget (none / 0) (#34)
    by Dadler on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 06:23:37 PM EST
    My ear may be tin, but my memory of your bio has turned into pure fool's gold.  Forgive my mistaken geographic association.      

    Parent
    Did I say that? (none / 0) (#27)
    by Patrick on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 02:09:30 PM EST
    Walter,

      I don't recall saying I got angry.  Can you either link to it or recant?  What makes me angry is people putting words into my mouth.  

    Parent

    My My (none / 0) (#35)
    by Patrick on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 07:31:35 PM EST
    Aren't we sensitive.  No, I hang up on them because they aren't going to tell me anything I haven't already heard 20-30 times since the campaigns began.  If I got angry about everything that insignificant, well....I'd be a democrat.   I notice you have't recanted or liked to a statement by me indicating I'm angry.  Why don't you just say you were wrong and be done with it.  That's the adult thing to do.

    Parent
    The evidence speaks for itself (none / 0) (#39)
    by Patrick on Wed Nov 08, 2006 at 06:46:22 PM EST
    I rest my case.  ESP does exist.  

    Parent
    BTW (none / 0) (#36)
    by Patrick on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 09:01:22 PM EST
    You sound like a angry little man yourself and perhaps your projecting

    Parent
    At the end. (none / 0) (#28)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 04:43:49 PM EST
    Never the less Walter, the method used by everyone except Dadler is to identify at the end.

    You may speculate about motives forever.

    Parent

    National defense is important (none / 0) (#14)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 09:47:49 AM EST
    My point was that unsoliciated calls, especially during rest hours, have a tendancy to anger people.
    Especially when they have registered to not receive sales calls.

    As for the Demo involved, I paid very close attention to what he was claiming, and discarded him when it was plain that he would just vote the Demo leadership line if elected. This means cut and run.

    National defense is important, Walter. More so than any other issue.

    Parent

    Running against the boogeyman (none / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 07:38:13 AM EST
    (1):
    Jonathan Chait: Party of ideas? Not the GOP

    October 29, 2006

    WHEN Republicans explain their strategy for the upcoming election, the two phrases they always use are "referendum election" and "choice election" -- and the latter is how they want to frame this year's vote.

    A referendum election is one in which voters make their decision on the basis of whether the party in power deserves to stay there. From the Republicans' point of view, that's very bad because almost everybody believes they have failed miserably.

    A choice election, on the other hand, is one in which voters weigh the two parties against each other. That kind of election gives the Republicans a fighting chance. The subtext of a choice election is: We may have screwed everything up, but the other party is worse. That's how President Bush won reelection.

    In principle, the Republicans are right about this. Democracy is a process of compromises and imperfect choices. Asking the voters to compare the two sides is the right thing to do. The trouble is, that isn't really what the Republicans want to do at all.

    How do I know this? Because the Democrats running for the House of Representatives actually have an agenda. Republicans aren't saying why the Democratic agenda is wrong, or why their own is better. They're just ignoring it.

    If you're like most people, you probably have no idea what that agenda is. Let me list it:

    •  Put new rules in place to break the link between lobbyists and legislation.

    •  Enact all the recommendations made by the 9/11 commission.

    •  Raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.

    •  Cut the interest rate on federally supported student loans in half.

    •  Allow the government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.

    •  Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds.

    •  Impose pay-as-you-go budget rules, requiring that new entitlement spending or tax cuts be offset with entitlement spending cuts or tax hikes.

    Republicans disagree with all these items. Indeed, the reason these items are on the Democratic agenda is that Republicans in Congress have blocked them from coming up for a vote.

    (2):
    Real Security Act of 2006

    (3):
    If You Enjoy Progress, Thank A Liberal


    boy, i don't know jim............. (none / 0) (#8)
    by cpinva on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 07:38:27 AM EST
    sounds like republicans to me. a real democratic activist wouldn't have: a. needed a script., or b. sounded shocked.

    geez, let's be real here guy, with republicans shooting themselves in the foot daily, why would the dems need to do anything, really, other than point and laugh?

    in the past couple of weeks, i've gotten maybe 3 or 4 political calls, which i've either not answered (thank goodness for caller id!) or hung up on shortly after realizing what they were. i've not a clue which party/candidate they were from, and don't care.

    watching george allen slit his own throat, on national tv, was more than enough entertainment for me. lynn cheney's follow-up self flagellating was almost more comedy than i could bear; neither jon stewart or steven colbert could possibly top reality.

    republican troll calling (none / 0) (#9)
    by scribe on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 08:40:51 AM EST
    Josh Marshall over at Talking Points Memo is keeping (and gathering) all reports of phone scamming, particularly the robocall variety.

    It appears that robocalls from Repubs misrepresenting the call as being from a Dem are a nationwide strategy and are being pushed by the National Republican Congressional Campaign committee.  The idea being, if they can p*ss people off enough, they'll blame the Dem and not go to the polls and vote, or not vote for the Dem.  They've been caught doing it, so far as I can tell, in NH-02, Kansas, suburban Philadelphia (PA-06, -07, -08).

    And, they're targeting Democratic likely voters and independents identified as leaning Democratic for these calls.  All that numbercrunching and micro-targeting is going into Democratic voter suppression.

    In Indiana (which I assume is where JimakaPPJ is, given his "watching Peyton"), computerized robocalls (with recorded calls) are illegal.  So, the Indiana calls are from a call center with live callers.  The call center is located, no surprise, offshore (and the wave of calles appears to be financed by the Swift Boat financier guy from Texas).  One Indiana commenter over at TPM noted he had received a call from someone trying to trash the Dem candidate whose accent was so thick (and delivery so bad) all he could understand was the candidate's name.

    In NH, the NRCC tried to pass the liability for the repeat hang-up calls off to the contractor screwing up, but the NH AG stepped in and seems to have put a halt to the robocalls there (or at least the hangup and re-calls).  In NH, it appears robocalls to those on the state do-not-call list carry a fine/penalty of $5k/call, and the Rethugs had admitted making 200k calls into that state.  How many of these on the do-not-call list, currently unknown.

    So, Jim, I guess this means you're really a Dem, and just troll for the jollies?  The Rethugs think you are....

    Parent

    more on repug robocalls and voter suppression (none / 0) (#11)
    by scribe on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 08:53:51 AM EST
    here, at Daily Kos.

    If you look at the list of districts targeted, you'll see every one of them is a close, contested district.

    Parent

    Unusal???? (none / 0) (#19)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 12:01:22 PM EST
    And gee Scribe, you think them being in close contested races is unusal?


    Parent
    scribe needs to get out more often (none / 0) (#18)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 11:58:49 AM EST
    scribe - You should get out more often. There is this thing called TV with national coverage of games. Why sometimes they even have the Bears on, though God knows why.

    BTW - Maybe the above will tell you this aint Kansas and I aint "Down Home in Indiana." ;-)

    Big Tent's comment's quotes says that the call is identifed as being Repub at the end. My point is that identifying the caller at the end is typical and usual.

    So his complaint was misleading.

    You can bring up all the robo calls you want as strawmen.

    Know if any Demos have slashed any van tires yet?
    Oh, yeah. That's done on election day.

    Parent

    Comedy break (none / 0) (#12)
    by Edger on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 09:14:51 AM EST
    On the lighter side, because laughter always helps, here's George Carlin on who really controls America, although I think he really is talking about Republican dirty tricks.

    Please tell me how it's illegal (none / 0) (#15)
    by Patrick on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 10:01:28 AM EST

    30. Are calls from political organizations or calls soliciting for charities covered?

    Political solicitations are not covered by the TSR at all, since they are not included in its definition of "telemarketing." Charities are not covered by the requirements of the national registry. However, if a third-party telemarketer is calling on behalf of a charity, a consumer may ask not to receive any more calls from, or on behalf of, that specific charity. If a third-party telemarketer calls again on behalf of that charity, the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.

    I guess I'm missing the part about how it's possibly illegal.  

    I had no less than 8 calls over the weekend, I think it was about even between "D" and "R", but to be honest, I just hung up on them.  

    Interesting (none / 0) (#20)
    by aw on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 12:08:18 PM EST
    Yesterday I received two calls about 20 minutes apart from the Demo Senate race.

    That's interesting.  If I recall correctly, you have said you're in Georgia, where the next senate race isn't until 2008 and the one after that is in 2010.

    yeah, go figure...... (none / 0) (#21)
    by cpinva on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 12:38:31 PM EST
    with the bears being trounced by miami, why bother? lol

    i didn't think political or charitable calls were covered by the TSR, which is why i continue to be bombarded by the red cross.

    jim has a satellite dish, with the NFL package, so he can stay in that cave and watch all the games, simutaneously, from the bank of tv's he's surrounded by.

    you don't want to be within a 20 mile radius of him the next morning! lol

    Exact;ly (none / 0) (#24)
    by Patrick on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 01:46:21 PM EST
    Yes, I'm still waiting to find out how these calls are illegal?  BTD hasn't taken the time to clarify his remarks on that issue.  So I'll wait, unless someone else cares to take up the point.

    Parent
    Take it up with the NH AG (none / 0) (#30)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 05:34:44 PM EST
    Your beef is with him apparently.

    Parent
    cpinva is ... surprise... wrong again (none / 0) (#29)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 04:50:19 PM EST
    Actually cpinva I live in the Palatial Retirement COMPOUND, Catfish Pond and BBQ Stand. COMPOUND's are not caves. And all the gold fixtures wipe out satellite transmission so I am stuck with just FNC and ESPN...

    Sigh... Life Is So Cruel. cpinva is wrong again.

    ;-)

    Now since you are such a Webb guy and I am an admitted gambler... will you take Webb and give me 6% for $20. donated to our favorite bog??

    After all, you still have a 2% margin.

    Parent

    Please don't make things up. (none / 0) (#22)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 12:42:28 PM EST
    aw - I have never said what state I live in.

    I have said that at one time I lived in Denver area.

    Please don't make things up. It makes people distrust you.

    The foot (none / 0) (#38)
    by Edger on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 06:00:11 AM EST
    Please don't make things up. It makes people distrust you.

    Heh. Heh, heh. Heh.

    If anyone would know, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc..

    Oh. Mornin' Jim! How's the foot?

    What would we do without you, huh? Heh.

    Parent